


Clothes & Makeup Have no Gender

by BooksRBetterThanPeople



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gay Disaster Max, Gay Marc Anciel, Gender Non-Conforming Lê Chiến Kim, Gender Non-Conforming Marc Anciel, Jealous Nathaniel Kurtzberg, M/M, Makeup, Max Kanté is a hot mess, Only Minor, Screw gender roles, boys wearing makeup, supportive parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:15:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28514814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksRBetterThanPeople/pseuds/BooksRBetterThanPeople
Summary: Inspired by Lizzey_E13’s comment on Chapter 12 of NathMarc November.Kim has always liked the thought of wearing girl’s clothing and having on makeup but is too nervous to do it. But, with some help from Marc, a stylish enby, and a girl who's amazing with makeup, he finally gets to do what he’s been dying to do ever since Marinette asked him to model some of her designs when they were six
Relationships: Marc Anciel & Lê Chiến Kim, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Max Kanté/Lê Chiến Kim
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Clothes & Makeup Have no Gender

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lizzey_E13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizzey_E13/gifts).



> I know little to nothing about makeup. I don't like wearing it but my mom always tries to force me to wear it. Mother, get that shit off my face, and keep those sticks away from my eyes! Try’na poke my eye out or something?!
> 
> ... I’m done.

As a six-year-old, Kim always knew he was different. He realized it ever since Marinette had asked him and Nino to model some clothes she made when they were six. Nino wore a pair of short pink overalls with little white sequined butterflies sewn onto the pockets, and Kim wore a white blouse with flower designs sewn on using pink thread, and Nino wore a red layered skirt. The craftsmanship showed just how advanced Marinette was when it came to sewing at such a young age. Nino would often make jokes about it, saying how hilarious it was for them to be wearing outfits designed for girls, but Kim didn’t really get what was so funny about it. When he looked in that mirror and saw the well-made outfit on him, he felt so beautiful. He’s never heard that word being said to him before. Handsome, stud, but never beautiful.

He wanted to wear the blouse, not just to model, but to wear it out in public with a pair of cute shoes and maybe even wear some of that sparkle gloss Marinette bought a week ago that tastes like strawberries... But he was scared. He’s never seen a man wear women’s clothing, but when he did, the man would always have horrible comments thrown at him... At least he could still wear the clothes he liked in the comfort of Marinette’s room, but that all changed the day her parents bought her a mannequin for her seventh birthday. Nino was relieved that he no longer had to model for her, but Kim was dejected. He just hated the fact that girls could wear dresses and pants but guys can only wear pants and can’t wear makeup unless they’re actors or models, it was so... So stupid! Who even came up with that dumb rule?

When he was eight, he was hanging out with Marinette and Nino at the latter's house. They were playing Ultra Mecha Strike 2, and of course, Marinette was dominating. During their fourth round, Kim was finally winning; he was finally going to beat that pigtailed demon!... But then he saw Nino's mother putting on her makeup. He loved that shade of red on her lips and the beautiful shape she did her eyeliner in. The sound of Marinette's cheering and Nino's dramatic cries of anguish snapped him out of it. He looked at the tv screen and saw his avatar down while Marinette's was cheering.

Yes, Nino's mother is gorgeous, but Kim wasn't focusing on her. His focus was on the makeup she was wearing. He often wondered what that lipstick would look like on him. A lighter shade would probably look better. He didn't know why he was obsessing over makeup now. First, it was girl's clothing, now this? When he got home that day, Kim borrowed his mom's phone, telling her that he wanted to play one of the games she downloaded for him when really, he was Googling, 'Why do I like makeup?', 'Can guys like girl stuff?', 'Is there something wrong with me?'. He sorted through all of the different articles.  
Some talked about the signs of gender dysphoria. Young Kim didn't really understand all of the words he was reading, but when he got the gist of it, he knew he wasn't dysphoric. He liked being a boy; he just didn't like the stuff that came with being one. He looked through more articles for about twenty more minutes. Most of them talked about dysphoria so he had to filter out some stuff until he found it- 'Gender non-conforming'. He looked into it and realized that's what he is. He liked wearing girl's clothes, he liked the idea of wearing makeup. He wanted to tell his parents and friends about his new discovery until he read further into the article and saw stories about people who came out to their parents and got kicked out of their homes or sent to conversion therapy, and even their oldest friends rejecting them... So, he kept this to himself.

By age eleven, Kim snuck into his parent's room while they went out for groceries. He made his way over to his mom's drawer and looked around for the familiar blue bag he's been pulling out and putting back for about four years now. He finally found the bag and unzipped it, revealing various makeup products such as lipstick, eyeshadow, blush, eyeliner. He reached into his pocket and fished out his phone before typing something in the search bar, 'Arco Iris tutorials'.

Once some results came up, Kim tapped on a video, showing a young red hoodie-clad man with pink hair styled into a faux-hawk sitting next to a boy around Kim's age with black hair and emerald green eyes. In front of them was a white table covered with different makeup products that had Arco Iris written on them in gold. The man introduced himself as Syd Anciel and the boy sitting next to him was his nephew, Marc. Syd explained that he would teaching viewers how to do smokey eyes, and Marc would be his model.  
Kim did as the man instructed and was right in the middle of using the black eye-shadow on his right eye before he heard his parents pull into the driveway. He quickly put the makeup back in the bag, put the bag back where he found it, and rushed into the bathroom where he vigorously rubbed the makeup off with a washcloth.

When he turned twelve, Kim started swimming and competing in competitions, so, over time, he's developed an athlete’s body and those clothes he wanted to wear so much wouldn’t fit. He would often stare longingly at Marinette's fashion magazines from afar whenever she was looking through them at school. What he wouldn't give to be able to wear those clothes.

But he'd probably think it was weird.

Max Kante was new at their school, and in the one week he's been there, he became the top student. The bespectacled boy was a genius, so other students were baffled why he wasn't in university. He always got straight A's, took first in every academic competition, was currently working on a robot, and he tutors students in grades higher than him. Kim was a good student. He got A's, B's, and the occasional C plus, so he didn't really need a tutor but Max didn't need to know that. Soon, tutoring turned to study sessions, and study sessions turned into hanging out with each other. Max was just great company, and Kim felt like he could tell him anything... Except how he's gender non-conforming.

It was amazing, honestly. He came out to his family and friends as Bisexual and they gave him so much support, especially Marinette and Nino, both of whom came out as Pansexual. Max even came out to him as gay, and Kim couldn't have been more overjoyed. He might have a chance, but if Max found out about his interests, he'd probably reject him on the spot.

—

As Kim walked into school one morning, his eyes trailed to Aurore’s new purple ruffle-hem shirt. The sleeves were loose and had beautiful white designs, the shade left Kim in awe. He’d gladly trade his drab, sweat-soaked hoodies for that beautiful shirt... If they had it in his size, which they probably didn’t.

With a sigh, Kim made his way to class, only to be stopped when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He whirled around and saw Max, one of his best friends, the best tutor he could ask for... And the boy that he’s been crushing hard on since they were twelve.

With an adorable smile, Max greeted him, “Morning, Kim! Glad I caught up with you!”

 _’Oh my God, why is his smile so damn cute?! Stay cool, Kim. Cool that Bisexual ass of yours.’_ “Max, my man! What’s up?” _‘Smooth.’_

“I finally got into the program!” He cheered.

Kim looked confused at first until he realized what Max meant and beamed with happiness, “You mean Limp?!”

Max rolled his eyes with a smirk, “It’s not ‘Limp’, it’s the **L** anguage **I** nformation and **M** ath **P** rogram,” he corrected.

Kim repeated the name of the program in his head, “Yeah. Limp.”

Max pouted, and Kim internally screamed at how cute he looked right now. “It’s not... Oh my God.” He finally hears the name, “It is limp,” Kim couldn’t help but laugh at how Max looked right now. No one told him this, but any time Max is proven wrong about something, (which is very rare) he gets cross-eyed. “How did I miss that?!”

Kim places a hand on his shoulder, “It happens, bud. It happens.”

”Anyway! Many successful people were in this program! Video game designers, animators for CGI movies, hackers for the government, even people who work for Netflix!”

Kim smiled and engulfed his shorter friend in a hug, “I’m happy for you, Max!” _'God, what conditioner does he use?'_ He wanted this moment to last forever, but, “Let’s get to class so I can tell the others!” Max pulled himself out of Kim's embrace much to the athlete's dejection, but his mood is lifted when Max takes his hand and starts pulling him to Mme. Bustier’s classroom.

—

Kim was grinning as his friends praised Max for his accomplishment. If there was one thing he loved more than swimming, winning one of his and Alix's dare competitions, and being King Monkey for that painfully short amount of time, it was seeing Max look so happy... Well, that, and watching makeup videos on his phone in the privacy of his own room. He still often wondered what Max and the others would say if they found out about his interests. And the thought made him want to cry. They'd probably shun him and not wanna hang out with him anymore. It made Kim even more self-conscious than he already was before.

Then he looked and saw Marinette, one of his best friends since École. She didn’t use her mannequin as much, relieving Kim, hoping that maybe she’d ask him to model her clothes again. He’d play it off as a joke so she wouldn’t think it was odd that he was so eager to try on her outfits. But that was when she just hung out with him and Nino. Now she had more girl friends who were more than willing to try on her clothes.

Each time Kim got a notification about Marinette posting a new outfit on her Instagram, he’d immediately go to see which of her friends was lucky enough to model her clothes. He once saw Mylene wearing a beautiful draped shirt that faded from blue to white. Her makeup was done, bringing out her best features, and her nails were painted, no doubt by Nathaniel since Marinette tagged him in the post. He would kill for that redhead to paint his nails, but he couldn't let him know that.

”Kim, are you okay?” Rose asked, and Kim is now realizing how upset he looks right now while everyone has looks of elation for their smart friend. His friends all give him concerned looks and start asking, questions like,

”Are you alright?”

”Something wrong, dude?”

”Did something happen?”

”I... I-“

”Alright, class!” Mme. Bustier said as she walked in with her usual bright-eyed look, “Let’s start the lesson!” With a breath of relief, Kim made his way to his and Max’s desk. Once everyone got to their seats, Mme. Bustier started the hour-long lesson.

__

Thirty minutes in history, and Kim was bored out of his mind. He sometimes managed to stay up during these lessons, but that was when Mme. Bustier taught about stuff that always piqued his interest like sports history, people fighting for their rights, and famous criminals that became textbook examples. But today they were learning about important documents that changed how people lived.

Sure, this is important, but Kim just couldn't stay focused on this topic. Mylene and Sabrina stayed attentive, seeing as they were interested in politics, but the rest? Not so much. Even Max looked like he wanted to rest his head, but Kim knew how much he cared about his grades, so he kept penciling down every important thing Mme. Bustier says in case there's a quiz.

 _'Come on, stay awake for the lesson. Just...'_ He looks up at the clock hanging over the door, 'Twenty-five more minutes. Don't fall asleep.' As his eyes trailed away from the clock back to the board, he caught a glimpse of Marinette and Nino giving him concerned looks while Mme. Bustier's back was turned. _'Damn, of course, they're still worried.'_ He tried to keep his eyes focused on the board as Bustier wrote, but he could still their eyes on him, wondering what's wrong with their friend.

—

Once class was over and it was time for lunch, Kim bolted out of the room before Mme. Bustier could even dismiss them so he didn't have to confront his friends. He just needed to get some alone time. So, he ran into the locker room and rushed into the boy's bathroom.  
Kim looked around to make sure no one was there. Once he was sure the bathroom was clear of any students or teachers, he walked over to the mirror sitting over the sinks. He just stared at his reflection, wishing that he could have a different body-type, something slender but not like a girl’s body. Maybe something more like Nathaniel or Nino. Those two could probably wear any girl’s clothing if they wanted to. Nathaniel probably already does. Kim was so sure that he's seen those jeans in the women's clothing department at a store in the mall.

After a few more seconds of hating his reflection, he made his way to the door but stopped when his foot brushed up against something on the floor. He looked down and saw it- A tube of pale pink lipstick. _'Is this Marc's?'_ He thought. He didn't really know any other guys at school who wore lipstick, so that was the only idea that came to mind.  
He kneeled down, picked up the makeup product, and just looked at it. Written on the tube in gold cursive letters was the logo, _Arco Iris_ , the brand he's been obsessed with for years. Just from watching the hundreds of videos posted every week, he found out that Marc's uncle started the popular brand. The videos often featured public figures trying out the products, and some of them were male. Arco Iris's whole brand was based on gender neutrality. They had cis male and female, nonbinary, trans, all types of people regardless of their sex, gender, or orientation represent the brand. It's one of the reasons why Kim admired Arco Iris so much.

A smile crept on Kim's face... He got back up and looked at himself in the mirror again, then back at the lipstick... And in a few seconds, his lips were pink. It's amazing how something so minimal made him feel so beautiful... Well, time to take it off and be mopey for the rest of his life. He grabbed a paper towel, ran it under warm water, and started dabbing the lipstick off. But then he started to furiously scrub when he heard the door open. 

"Hi, Kim."

Relief washed over when he heard the familiar voice. It was Marc: Marinette's cousin, and Nathaniel's boyfriend. "Oh, you found my lipstick," the green-eyed boy said as he pointed to the tube sitting on the counter.

"Hey, Marc," Kim greeted, trying not to sound too nervous as he bit his bottom lip to scrape off any lipstick that was still left on his lips with his teeth. "Yeah, I just found it here, and- What are you doing?" He backed away as Marc leaned in close and took a look at his face. Kim's heart started to beat rapidly, _'Does he know? What's he gonna say? Jock guys can't wear makeup, that's so weird. Just get it over with.'_

"Okay, first off, this is not your color. You're more of a spring." _'... Oh.'_ "Second, I didn't know you liked wearing makeup." When Kim didn't respond, Marc became concerned, ”Kim, are you okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.”

Kim looks away. Those green eyes were peering into his soul, “Like what?”

”Nervous, fidgeting...” Had Kim been fidgeting? He didn’t even realize, “... Kim, you can tell me if something’s wrong.” He smiled, “I’m the last person who would ever judge someone.”

Kim smiled when he heard that. Marc was right, he was the least judgemental person ever, and maybe he could tell him about this. So, he took a deep breath, “... Um... S-sometimes I... I wish I could wear makeup,” he said, voice becoming quieter, “and clothes for women.”

Marc blinked, “Oh. Okay, that’s fine." He smiles, calming Kim down a little bit. "Why don’t you do it now?”

”... It’s ‘cause I look like this," he gestures to his body. "I-I can’t wear the clothes I want, an-and I’d love to wear makeup, but I’m-“

“Scared because you’re a boy?” Marc finished for him, and Kim sighed before nodding.

”Yeah... Heh. Sometimes I wish I looked like you.”

Marc blushed in embarrassment, “Really?”

Kim nodded, “Yeah, I mean... You’re slender, could definitely wear all the stuff I wanna wear. You look amazing with makeup on, I’d probably look like a drag queen.”

”Hey, Drag Queens are beautiful, don’t put them down like that.” Kim chuckled. “And I’m sure you’d look amazing wearing makeup. Have you ever tried putting it on? Besides mine, I mean.”

”... Well, when I was eleven, I tried on some of my mom’s while she and my dad were out, but they came home early, so I panicked,” he admitted.

Marc frowned, “Are they not okay with...”

Kim realizes what he’s thinking and quickly defends his parents, “No! Not at all! They’re fine with gender, sexuality, and stuff like that. I came out as Bi, they bought pink, purple, and blue macarons an hour later. I’m still just a little nervous about dressing how I want to in front of them.”

Marc reached for his hand and gave it a little squeeze, “Well, if they don’t have a problem with this type of stuff, I don’t think they’ll mind if you wear a little makeup. Maybe ease into it with some gender-neutral clothing.”

“... Yeah... But I’m still worried about what the others will think.”

Marc smiled, “Kim, I doubt any of your classmates will care. They’ll be a little surprised at first, I’ll tell you that. But once you explain everything, they’re sure to accept you.” After hearing those words, Kim immediately engulfed Marc in a hug, which he returned. After a comfortable silence, Marc said, “I think I might know a place where you can get what you’re looking for.”

Kim pulled away from the hug, “Seriously?” Marc nodded. He then asked, “Are you busy this weekend?”

”Meet me at my place at ten.” After he said this, Marc grabbed his lipstick and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Kim with an ear to ear smile on his face

—

It was finally Saturday, and Kim could barely contain his excitement. He bounced out of bed and ran all around the house to get ready- Shower, brush his teeth, find clothes, his wallet, and find his phone because he always manages to lose it every morning. When he finally found it- under his bed somehow- he saw a text from Marc that he sent about five minutes ago, 'Do you still want to do this?' with a lipstick emoji. Kim quickly texted back, 'Hell Yea!' with a thumbs-up emoji. Once he did that, he ran down the stairs and into the living room where he saw his mom, Khuyen, doing her morning work-out in her sweats.

She was in the middle of some push-ups when she saw her son, "Xin chào, champ! What's up?"

Kim smiled, "I'm hanging out with a friend today. I'll probably be back by lunch."

"Well, you can stay out a little later," she said before moving onto some sit-ups. "Your dad and I are gonna be out with some friends for a while, so, we may not be here when you get back."

He nods, "Alright, mom." Right now, he's internally cheering. With his parents out of the house for who knows how long, he can try on any makeup or clothes he and Marc find while they're out. He makes his way into the kitchen where he sees his dad making breakfast. _'Smells like hashbrowns,'_ Kim thought before greeting his dad, "Xin chào, dad."

Teo, a man about an inch shorter than Kim turns around and greets his son with a friendly smile, "Kim, you're looking bright-eyed today! What's got you in a good mood?" He added with a smirk, "Another dare contest with that Kudbel girl?"

Kim rolled his eyes, "Not today, dad. I'm just hanging out with a friend of mine."

Teo nods, "Nino or Marinette?"

"A different friend," he corrected. "He's in Mendelieve's class."

"Ah. You, Nino, and Marinette should start hanging out again," Teo says before turning back to the hashbrowns, "The three of you were inseparable." He chuckles, "It's funny how Marinette always got you two to do the craziest things."

Khuyen laughed as she walked into the kitchen, "Remember when she had you two try on the clothes she made? That was so cute! I need to find those pictures."

As his parents chuckled fondly at the memory, Kim's laughter was out of nervousness, "Yeah... That was pretty funny... So, I'm gonna head out; I'll see you guys later!" And at that, he ran out of the kitchen.

"What about breakfast?" Khuyen called out.

Kim responded by the door as he slipped his sneakers on, "I'm good, thanks!" Once he got the other shoe on, he opened the door, "Love you guys, bye!" And he was out of the house.

His parents looked on with confusion before Teo points to Khuyen and says, "Kid gets that from your side of the family, y'know."

* * *

It was about a seven-minute jog to Marc's house, and it was easy to tell which house he lived in. There were different-colored flowers arranged to look like a rainbow in the front yard, a rainbow flag sticker on the mailbox flag, and two cars parked by with pride flag bumper stickers. He made his way up the flight of stairs leading to the doors and knocked. A minute later, the door opened, revealing Marc, "Hey, Kim," he greeted.

"Hey, Marc." He took a look at the green-eyed boy and stared in awe at his outfit and makeup. He recognized the pin-up style he did his eyeliner in from some makeup tutorial videos with some subtle black eye shadow and some lipstick that was a darker shade than what he usually wore. He wore a white crop jacket over a black tank top with red jeans held up by his studded belt, and black knee-high combat boots with red laces.

"Ready to go?" He asked. When Kim didn't respond, he quirked an eyebrow, "Kim?"

"Oh, sorry," he apologized, "I-I just love your makeup. How'd you learn how to do it yourself?"

Well, my mom taught me," he responded then closed the door. "When I showed an interest in wanting to wear makeup, she just taught me a few things," he explained. "And I just sorta picked it up over the years. Then she got a new job and became busier, so my uncle Syd took over with teaching me about makeup."

Kim smiled, "That's pretty cool. So, where are we going? You never really specified anything."

Marc didn't say anything, but instead held Kim's arm, and pulled him away from his house, much to the athlete's confusion.

* * *

One bus ride later, and Kim found himself in an unfamiliar part of Paris. He didn't know why, but he felt safe here like this was a place where he could be himself. "I don't think I've been around here before," Kim said as he looked around at the stores and restaurants.

"Welcome to Le Marais," Marc said with a grin. "It's sort of Paris' gay district. Nath and I come here sometimes."

It all looks so beautiful to Kim. There are small pride flag stickers on the windows of stores, the crosswalks were painted to look like rainbows, mannequins in the window displays wearing unisex clothing, and there are even men walking down the streets wearing feminine clothing with no one batting an eye. And much to his joy, some of them even had his body type.

"How come I've never seen this place before?" Kim wondered aloud.

"Oh, you can only see this place and get in when you've truly harnessed the power of gayness," Marc stated. "If you haven't, you can always get someone who has to let you in." Kim stared at the boy in bewilderment before he burst out into laughter. "I'm kidding!" Kim laughed along with him, "Now come on; I'm gonna show you my favorite store."

"Lead the way." Kim allowed Marc to drag him all around this amazing town for a good two minutes, and Kim used this time to see what else there was. Children were walking down the streets with same-sex parents, store employees were fitting the feminine-looking mannequins in the displays with unisex and masculine clothing, and there was a street artist spray painting a few pride flags on the side of a building.

"We're here."

Kim looked away from the painted wall and looked around to see where Marc had taken him. The two stood before a store called Illimitées. Judging by the posters in the display windows of people applying gloss and mascara, Kim suspected it to be a makeup store. And much to his joy, they sold Arco Iris products. _'Does Marc get discounts since his uncle made the brand?"_ he wondered to himself since the makeup was so expensive.

"Marc!" A voice yelled out. Stepping out of the store was a tall, muscular creole person with chiseled features and curly brown hair wearing an orange crop hoodie, ripped jeans, and blue ankle boots. They squealed and immediately went to engulf Marc in a tight hug, paying no attention to Kim, who was looking confused. "Hey, my little gay of sunshine!"

Marc giggled and hugged them back, "Hey, Ronnie!" As they were hugging, Marc heard a throat-clearing sound and remembered Kim. He reluctantly pulled away from Ronnie so he could introduce Kim, "Ronnie, this is my friend Kim. Kim, this is Ronnie, my godparent." With a bright smile, Ronnie held out their hand for Kim to shake, "Nice, to meet you. Now, what brings you here, hon?"

Noticing Kim tensing at the question and struggling to come up with a response as he wrung his hands, Marc answered for him, "Kim's looking to experiment with different outfits, and..." He trailed off as he looked to Kim, asking for permission to continue. He got a nod and a shy smile in response. "To try on some makeup. Is Christine in today?"

Ronnie laughed, "Please. I couldn't keep her away from the place if I tried; of course, she's in!" They approached Kim and looked him up and down, causing the athlete to nervously sweat and think, _'Crap, what's Ronnie gonna say? Ugh. There's not enough makeup in the world to make Mr. Butch Boy look hot. Then Marc's gonna regret bringing me here, tell everyone about this, and then Max will switch classes or schools so he never has to-'_

"Hon?" Ronnie snaps their fingers in front of Kim's face, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You alright?" They asked with concern laced in their voice. "You just sort of zoned out for a second."

"Oh... Sorry, I uh..."

"Sorry if I intimidated you there," they apologized. "It's sort of my process." Kim lightly chuckled with relief. "First. Embrace your cheekbones. Do you know how much money people waste trying to get those?" Kim blushed, "Second. You'd look beautiful with peach lipstick, but let's get a professional's opinion." Kim felt his lips. Has he been practicing with the wrong lipstick? Ronnie opened the door to the shop and gestured for Kim to walk inside. He looked back at Marc who gave him a thumbs-up, giving Kim enough reassurance to go in and look around in awe.

The walls of the store were painted a pastel purple with white and light grey hearts painted on, and glass bubble lampshades hung from the ceiling. On the left side of the store were many long, white marble block tables with different brands of makeup sitting on the surface. There were brands like Arco Iris, Luv Ya, Cloud Nein, Vivacious, Kink A, Zazz, and many more Kim didn't recognize. Mirrors hanging on the walls, there was a station for employees to do customer's makeup.

On the left side of the store were clothing racks, much to Kim's surprise since he thought Illimitées was just a makeup store. There were casual dresses, sun, skater, shift, sheath, tunic; skirts, layered, mini, pleated, ruffled, denim, slit; shirts, off-the-shoulder, trumpet sleeves, crop-top, v-neck, polo, turtleneck; pants, boot-cut, bell-bottom, harem, shorts, skorts. There were no signs specifying if they were for men or women, they were just arranged by type, color, pattern. There were white swivel racks filled with bags, shoes, and on top were jewelry and phone cases with pride flags printed on them. When Kim saw that Bisexual phone case, he knew he had to have it.

"Christine!" Ronnie called out.

Stepping away from a lipstick rack was a tall Latinx woman with wavy brown hair that reached to her waist, long eyelashes, and ruby red lips. She was wearing a blue halter top with a baby pink overalls skirt, white knee socks, and black kitten heels. She smiled brightly as soon as she saw Marc, "There's my guy! Need me to get you dolled up for another date with Nathaniel?" She smirked.

Marc playfully rolled his eyes and said, "No, Christine. My friend, Kim actually wants to try on makeup." He gestures over to Kim, who shyly waves. Christine walked over to him, allowing Kim to get a better look at her makeup. She looked so well-put-together, had smooth skin with freckles sprinkled on her cheeks, and a diamond eyebrow piercing on her perfectly arched eyebrows.

"Have you ever modeled?" She asked, making Kim chuckle when he remembered how Marinette would ask him and Nino to model. She smiled, "I'm serious. You have a beautiful bone-structure, and-" She looks closer at his face, "Are these real cheekbones?" Kim nodded. "I am going to love putting makeup on your friend, Marc! Let's go!" She drags Kim by his arm away from Ronnie and Marc.

"After that, we'll try on clothes!" Ronnie called out, then they and Marc made their way over to the clothes racks.

Kim found himself at a makeup station with different products littered all over the table. The brushes were covered in blush and contour, sponges were damp, different skin-toned model hands used by nail artists were covered with streaks of lipstick, and taped to the sides of the mirror were photos of different makeup styles and their names written at the bottom.

"Okay, so what are we doing here?" She sits Kim down in a purple swivel chair then sorts through the makeup and supplies before pulling out different skin tone guides with writing on the back, 'Natural', 'Theatrical', 'Evening', and 'Gothic'. "Little lipstick, some mascara? Touch of eye-shadow; what's this for?"

"I... I just wanna see what looks good on me," he answered. "Maybe a look I can wear to school?" Christine smiled and pulled out the skin tone chart with 'natural' written on the back. She held it up to Kim's face and started trailing her finger up and down the chart, much to Kim's confusion "I-I'm sorry, but what are you doing?"

"Finding the skin tone closest to yours," she replied then narrowed her eyes at two colors on the chart. "What you want to wear is a natural look, something subtle and for day to day use. If you use something too dark or too light, it'll look like you're going to an event... Okay, you're about a warm ivory. Gimme a minute." She makes her way over to a shelf labeled 'Natural' filled with lipstick. She scans the row labeled 'Warm Ivory' and picks out a peach-colored lipstick. Then she picks out some eyeshadow from the next shelf. It looks like a slate blue color. The brand was from Arco Iris, much to Kim's joy. "You seem excited," Christine remarked. "You like this brand?"

"I worship Arco Iris tutorials," Kim beamed. "I've been looking at Syd's videos since I was like ten."

Christine laughed as she damped a cotton cloth with face wash, "Yeah, Syd is amazing. I remember when Marc was younger, Syd would always bring him here and let him pick out a bunch of glitter lip gloss. Alright, close your eyes." Kim does so, and she begins wiping his face with the cloth. "You should have seen that boy," she giggled, "He knew his way around the store better than me... I mean, I just started working here, but he could name that year's Top Ten most popular makeup brands." Kim nodded with an amused smile. The thought of someone who might have been five years old knowing more about makeup than someone who's probably studied cosmetology for years sounded so funny. "So, when did you realize you liked wearing makeup?"

"... I think I've always known. When I was three, I always loved watching my mom putting on her makeup," he chuckled. "I thought I just liked how nice people look with makeup, but I guess it went a little deeper than that." Once he felt the cloth no longer on his face, Kim opened his eyes and saw Christine looking through the drawers in her station, but she was still paying attention. "I first tried on my mom's makeup when I was eleven. I was mid-smokey-eye when my parents came home." He looks down sadly, "I rushed into the bathroom and scrubbed it all off." With a sympathetic look, Christine holds his hand.

"I was the same. I preferred to put on makeup in stores or in the comfort of my room when my parents were out," she said much to Kim's confusion. She's a girl, so why would she try on makeup behind her parents' backs? "I'm trans, Kim," she grinned.

'... Oooh.' "Oh. I-I didn't-"

She laughs, "I think I made it pretty obvious." She gestures to her outfit, and Kim is now just realizing that they're the colors of the trans flag. "So yeah," she pulls an eye shadow brush out of the drawer and opens up the eye shadow container. "Pre coming out, I did a bunch of stuff my parents didn't know about. I tried on dresses, heels, and wore makeup. Finally, when I was eleven, I came out to them."

Kim frowned slightly, "How'd they take it?"

"They were surprisingly cool for Catholics," she joked. "They let me buy the clothes I wanted, let me grow my hair out, and my mom bought me my very own makeup pallet. Close your eyes again." Kim did. She gathers some eye shadow with the brush and Kim flinched a bit when he felt the bristles on his eyelids. "What are your parents' views?"

He pressed his lips at that question. His parents were cool about sexuality, but what about gender? "... They don't have a problem with me being bi." He smirks, "My mom was close to throwing a one-woman pride parade."

Christine pulled the brush away from Kim's face so she could laugh without messing up on his makeup. "Your mom sounds awesome." She goes back to applying the eye shadow, then moves onto the next eye, "So, would they be fine with you wearing makeup and feminine clothes?"

"... I don't know," he answered solemnly. "They never showed any resentment towards people like that, but if it's their own son... I'm just scared. When I found out what gender non-conforming was, I heard stories about people getting kicked out after they came out." Once the brush was off his eyelid, he slowly opened his eyes, and immediately, a few tears streamed down his face. Christine grabbed a tissue and dabbed them away.

"Kid, it's gonna be alright. If my Catholic parents can accept me, then I'm sure yours will accept you."

"Thank you," he whispered. Christine then pulled out a container of blush and a clean brush, "Now... Is it just your parents you're worried about? Maybe your friends, too?"

Kim hummed in thought, "Well, pretty much everyone in my class is LGBT. We have a token straight couple." Christine laughed at that, "I don't think they'd mind, but I'm still nervous." He bites his lip as he thinks about his friends' reactions. Marinette, Nino, Alix never gave two shits about gender; Mylene and Ivan are very supportive of their friends; Chloe, Juleka, and Rose will probably take him out shopping; Alya, Adrien, and Sabrina... He doesn't know, but maybe they'll be chill about it; Nathaniel’s boyfriend is gender non-conforming, so he’d be okay with it. Now Max is when he starts getting upset. Max likes guys. He might see makeup as a 'girl thing' and won't like Kim back the minute he sees him with red lips and a ruffle blouse.

Christine suddenly asked as she began applying the blush, "Who's Max?" Kim wondered if he said that out loud. "A boy you like?" she smirked, making Kim's face flush. "Does he like guys?" Kim gave a slight nod so he didn't mess up Christine's work. "Lemme guess. You're worried he'll reject you when he sees you wearing 'girl clothes,'" she said while making finger quotes. After a few more seconds with the blush, she pulls out the lipstick she got off the rack.

"...Yeah. I-I mean he likes guys, so what's gonna happen when he sees me wearing makeup and women's clothes?"

"I can't answer that, but- Do your lips like this for a second." She purses her lips. Kim does the same and she starts applying the lipstick, "If he doesn't like you back simply for dressing and looking how you want, then that's his loss because... You look gorgeous right now. Take a look." She spins his chair around so Kim is facing the mirror, and he is awestruck. The eye-shadow complimented his grey eyes, the blush defined his cheekbones, and the lipstick was a beautiful peach color. He loved how he looked right now. And Christine was right. If Max didn't like him, it was his loss.

"Kim!" Marc called out as he ran over to him, "Ronnie and I-" He sees Kim's reflection in the mirror and lets out a tiny gasp. "You look so beautiful!" He exclaimed and immediately went to hug Kim. "Ronnie and I found some clothes I think you're gonna love."

At the words, Kim excitedly shot up from the seat and engulfed Christine in a hug, "Thanks, Christine!" He allows Marc to pull him towards the clothing section of the store while Christine laughed as she cleaned up her work station.

__

"Okay, now Marc told me you're the athletic type," Ronnie said as they looked Kim up and down, "No doubt there. So we found you some clothes breathable," they gesture over to a few clothes stacked on a decorative white chaise lounge, "and you're able to be active in while still looking absolutely gorgeous. Now, I feel like I should ask: Would you wear skirts?"

Kim thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, "No, not really." Skirts do look nice, but he just can't see himself wearing them. Just jeans, leggings, shorts, etcetera for him. "So, what'd you find?"

With a grin, Ronnie reached for the first outfit. Kim's eyes gleamed at the sight of the long-sleeve red lace crop top with a black collar and a pair of black jeans. Second was a light pink sweater with a black Peter Pan collar and button cuffs and a pair of white pants. Finally, and probably Kim's favorite was a long sleeve black lace blouse with crochet flowers and red pants.

"Take your pick," Ronnie smirked, and Kim immediately went for the black lace blouse.

* * *

"Alright, and you're all set," Ronnie said as they finished bagging Kim's clothes and the starter makeup pallet. "And since this is your first time shopping here, you get a discount." They take Kim's gift card and swipe it before handing it back. "And hey, good look with your parents, your friends..." They smirk, "And Max."

With a scandalized gasp, Kim pointed at Christine, who was in the middle of doing a girl's makeup, "Traitor! That was private!" Marc and Ronnie laughed while Christine feigned innocence and went back to doing the girl's makeup. He turns back to Ronnie, "Well, thanks again, Ronnie."

They smile, "My pleasure. And come back any time. You're like my favorite customer."

Marc's widened in hurt and shock before asking, "I-I thought I was your favorite."

Without saying a word, Ronnie backed away from the register, leaving Marc wondering how Kim became the favorite godchild and Kim laughing at Marc's misfortune. With a roll of his eyes, Marc dragged Kim out of the store and angrily muttered about him being the favorite

* * *

Kim and Marc stood outside the Lê Chiến's home for over ten minutes. Three people asked if they were lost or planning to rob the place and trying to work up the courage. Kim would continuously reach for his face to try and wipe his makeup off, but Marc would slap it away. Teo and Khuyen were home earlier than Kim expected, so there go his plans to hide the clothes and makeup pallet in the back of his closet.

"... Kim... You gotta go in some time."

He sighs, "I know. I'm gonna do it... Ten more minutes?"

Marc held his free hand, "Kim, ever since we got back from Illimitées, people have been complimenting your makeup." A few guys in the district flirted with him, others called him beautiful, and on the bus ride home, people were just as nice. A cute brunette boy winked at him when he got off the bus, and two girls asked for tips. "That didn't boost your confidence a little?" Kim's only response was a shrug. "Alright, look at me." Reluctantly, Kim meets his gaze, "If it goes wrong, you don't have a home, you're welcome to come live with me and my moms. Okay?" Kim nods, "Alright." He brings his thumb to the corner of Kim's eye to wipe a tear forming. "Christine worked too hard just for you to cry this makeup off," he smiled.

"... I'm ready." He slowly walks up to the front door and feels around in his pockets for his keys. Much to his disappointment, he found them. He was right at the door now. He shakily moved his house key toward the hole and turned it before opening the door. Kim looked over his shoulder for reassurance from Marc. The green-eyed boy gave him a thumbs up and Kim slowly stepped inside with Marc following close behind.

And there they were, sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn between them and watching a movie. Khuyen looked up from her fistful of popcorn and greeted the two, “Hey, sea monkey! Who’s your...” She squints her eyes to make sure she’s seeing things correctly. “Kim... What’s on your face?”

Teo looks away from the screen and takes a look at Kim. “Is that makeup? You wear makeup?”

Kim nervously pressed his lips together and nodded. “Y... Yeah. I-I do.” He looks over at Marc one more time before taking a deep breath and finally saying, “I... I’m gender non-conforming.” Off their confused expression, he explains, “I-It means I like to wear more feminine clothing, I... I like makeup, lo-love it, even. Guys, I...” A tear appears in the corner of his eye, “Oh my God,” he whispered.

Teo quickly got up from the couch and went to comfort him, “Kim, Kim. It’s okay. We don’t care.”

”He’s right,” Khuyen agreed as she went to hug him, “we don’t care. Em bé, we love you, and we always will.” She dabs his tears away with her sleeve, “Don’t mess up your makeup, sweetie.”

Kim is beaming with joy right now. He immediately engulfs his parents in a hug while Marc watched this touching moment with a smile.

”... Also, we kinda knew,” Khuyen said, much to Kim and Marc’s surprise.

”What?”

”Excuse me?”

Teo nodded, ”Well, we thought different stuff. I thought you were nonbinary.” Kim stares at him with his jaw hung open slightly until he bursts out into laughter while Khuyen amusedly shook her head. “What? I did! Why do you think I stopped using gender-specific nicknames for you? Kid, sport, champ, sea monkey. You didn’t notice a pattern?”

Khuyen smiled, “Kim, we love you, but you’re not hard to read. I found a fashion magazine under your bed.” Kim blushed, “Yeah. That’s how we knew.” She lightly cups his face in her hands so she doesn’t mess up his makeup, “And I want you to know that we love you no matter how you dress or how you identify yourself.”

Kim nodded, “Thanks.”

Teo remembers Marc and turns to him, “And thanks for helping Kim out. We have been waiting so long for him-“ He turns to Kim. “He and him, right?” Kim nods, “Okay.” He turns back to Marc. “We have been waiting so long for him to come out again.” Kim rolls his eyes, “Come over any time, uh...” He tries to remember his name.

”It’s Marc Anciel, sir,” he told him.

“Marc,” he nods. “Come over any time, help Kim out. Door’s always open.”

”I will,” he grinned, “Thank you M. Lê Chiến. I-I better get home.” He heads for the door. “I’ll see you on Monday, Kim,” he said before leaving.

“Nice boy,” Khuyen remarked then eyed Kim’s shopping bag, “Now show me what you bought!”

* * *

Kim stood outside the front of the school with his hoodie up to cover his face. Instead of his usual sweats, he was wearing the black jeans he had bought, and a pair of flats his mom bought for him on Sunday. Maybe he could fake being sick and do this tomorrow... Or Wednesday. Or never and just do it at home.

”Kim!” Marc called out as he ran over to him somehow without falling while wearing those black heeled boots that went with his red shoulderless sweater and black ruffle skirt. “Are you still gonna do it?”

Was he? There is nothing Kim wants to do more than just storm into that school and crush gender roles until it’s rubble beneath his beautiful flats... But Marc can do that, he’s already dressed for it, so-

Marc cut off his thoughts, “Kim, I know what you’re thinking, and stop it. We’ll walk in together, okay? Come on.” He holds out his hand for Kim to take, and the athlete slowly took it in his. They walked up the stairs together, and once at the double doors, Kim took off the hood, revealing his perfectly-done makeup. Years of watching Arco Iris tutorials really paid off.

In the starter makeup pallet were different shades of lipstick, eye shadow, and blush. He decided to go for the light red lipstick instead of the peach. The peach lipstick did look natural, but he liked the color he had on. The pallet didn’t come with the color Christine used, so Kim had to lightly apply the black with a touch of the blue. He felt and looked nice.

Once they walked in the courtyard, there were already a few eyes on them, and much to Kim’s relief, they were all friendly. Except for Nathaniel, but it wasn’t from Kim wearing makeup. It was because he and Marc were holding hands.

”Morning, Kim,” he said politely with a bit of edge in his voice. “Love the eye shadow, really brings out your eyes, and the lipstick is a beautiful shade, why are you holding hands with my boyfriend? I _love_ those shoes!” Immediately, Kim let go of Marc’s hand and Nathaniel took it instead, right before he kissed him on the cheek while looking Kim right in the eye. “But seriously, Kim, you look amazing,” he smiled. “Just don’t hold his hand again.”

Kim nervously chuckled, “Noted.”

”Dude, you look awesome!” Alix exclaimed as she, Rose, and Juleka ran over to him. Rose could barely contain her excitement and Juleka was trying to keep her from bursting. “I didn’t know you were into makeup.”

”WHO DID YOUR MAKEUP?!” Rose squealed so loudly that everyone heard and immediately started swarming Kim for answers.

“You look amazing!”

“Red is so your color!”

“Dude, I’m straight, but I would totally ask you out.”

“Who did your makeup?”

“Those shoes are so beautiful!’

Kim was so happy right now. No one was giving him dirty looks for wearing makeup or insulting him; everyone was so nice. How would they react when they see the rest of his outfit?

As everyone in the courtyard complimented Kim on his makeup and shoes, Max watched from the second floor of the school with an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at Kim. Next to him was Markov, scanning his face. ”Max, your face seems to be heating up. Are you feeling ill?”

”Uh... I-I’m uh... Yeah, I’m fine one hundred percent!” He exclaimed before removing his very foggy glasses and wiping them with his shirt. “I’m just dehydrated... Very, very dehydrated.”

”Oh, yes Max,” Marinette smirked. “You are _so_ dehydrated right now.”

Face flushed, Max turns his head away from Marinette’s smug look, “Y-yes. That’s what I said, Marinette. I’m just gonna get something to-“ Before he can walk away, Marinette grabs the back of his suspenders and pulls him back towards her.

”Oh, Max,” she sighed. “Just wait until you see the rest of his outfit. Marc texted me yesterday and told me what Kim bought,” she smirked before giving him a pat on the back then walking away, leaving Max- for once- very confused. What else was Kim wearing that didn’t already have Max flustered?

—

There it was. Right in front of him. And in the classroom, his safe space.

Being flaunted in front of Max were Kim’s toned abs developed from swimming over the years, exposed by a red lace crop top. And that with the black jeans were not keeping certain thoughts out of Max’s head. Like how he wants to smash his lips against Kim’s and feel his arms that were always covered up by his sweatshirt, and then just let him-

“Max?”

Reeling Max out of those thoughts was Alix, giving him an expectant look. “I asked what you thought about Kim’s outfit and makeup. You like it?”

‘Like’ doesn’t even begin to describe how Max feels about what Kim had on. He worshipped that outfit on Kim and the makeup only made him realize how lucky he was to be in the same class with the cutest boy in school.

Max has had a universal-sized crush on Kim since he started tutoring him when they were younger. There was just something about a guy staring intensely at fractions that just got Max aroused. He’s tried so many times to come out and say that he was in love with Kim, but nothing ever happens and he goes home feeling like a lost cause... Was this how Marinette felt? Because it’s awful.

”Hey thirsty boy,” Alix nudged him then pointed at Kim talking to Marinette and Nino. “Go get him.”

“Alix, I am not- HEY!” She was already dragging him over to the childhood friends. Marinette and Nino saw this. Giving each other twin smirks, they excused themselves. Alix tapped Kim’s shoulder and ran off, leaving the two very awkward boys alone... Well, not really since their classmates were watching them attentively, wondering who will speak first.

It’s Kim. ”... So, do you like my outfit?”

Max has so many out-of-character things to say about his outfit.

’I love you more than I have before.’

’You look so hot in red.’

’I’m in a coma and this is my dream.’

’Are there more outfits like this you can try on in front of me?’

But much to everyone’s shock and amusement, all that came out was, “I am so gay for you!”

Kim’s face flushed before he asked, “What?”

”He said he’s gay for you!” Chloé yelled with an eye roll, “God, just kiss and get it over with, you two! We’re tired of waiting! You two are utterly oblivious!”

Marinette whispers to the others, “Let’s leave, you guys.” Rose and Alya were reluctant to leave, so their significant others had to drag them out. Once everyone left, it was silent between to two

Kim finally broke the silence, “You don’t care that I like dressing like this?”

”I-I really don’t,” Max replied while adjusting his glasses. “It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t change how I already feel about you.” Lie. Before, he thought Kim was cute. Now he’s hot. “Did you think I’d reject you for dressing like this?” He asked sadly.

Kim nervously messed with the hem of his shirt, “I... I mean, you’re gay and I just... I thought that by dressing like this, you’d see it as girly, and not like me.”

Max was confused by that until ealization soon dawned on him. “Kim... A-are you attracted to me?” Off his very red face, he chuckled, “If you are, did you not hear me a minute ago when I said that I’m so gay for you?” He smiled when he heard Kim’s laughter. He loved seeing the swimmer so happy.

”Alix was right about you being a gay disaster,” he chuckled.

Max rolled his eyes, “She calls everyone in the class a disaster. She’s right.”

”HELL YEAH, I AM!” Alix yelled from the other side of the door. “NOW KISS YOUR BOY, MAX!”

”Alix, he’s not just gonna-“ Then much to Kim’s surprise, Max grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulled him down to his level and crashed their lips together. Kim fell into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Max’s frame while the shorter boy wrapped his around Kim’s neck.

The Akuma class did not hold back on their cheering and paying each other the money from their Kim/Max bet.

Adrien muttered as he took out his wallet, “They couldn’t have waited until next week?” He hands Marinette ten dollars.

”Cough up the rest, blondie,” Alix told him as she collected her winnings, “it didn’t happen in the library.”

“I never win these,” Adrien grumbled as he handed Marinette another ten dollars.

* * *

The next day, Kim and Max walked hand-in-hand into school. Today, Kim had on a pastel purple sweater with a white Peter Pan collar and cuffs with white skinny jeans and purple and white-checkered Vans. He had on pale pink lipstick with a bit of black eyeshadow, and around his left wrist was a Bisexual print wristband. Max could not take his eyes off of his beautiful boyfriend, and neither could some of the other male students.

—

From the lunch line, Max had a lovestruck look on his face as he watched Kim talking to Marc. He really had to thank him because if Marc hadn’t helped Kim out they probably wouldn’t be together.

His admiration soon turned to envy as two guys he recognized from the futbol team approached the two boys and appeared to be checking them out. And that one blonde boy did not seem to understand what ‘personal space’ meant.

”Welcome to the Protective Boyfriends Club,” Nathaniel said, startling Max since he just somehow appeared out of nowhere. “Bring a bat with you on dates.”

**Author's Note:**

> Translations:  
> em bé: baby
> 
> Xin chào: good morning
> 
> Outfit inspiration  
> https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1FZU5LXXXXXbWaXXXq6xXFXXXq/XXXXL-Women-Tops-And-Blouses-2017-New-Fashion-Long-Sleeve-Lace-Blouse-Pleated-Crochet-Blusa-Peplum.jpg
> 
> https://assets.myntassets.com/h_1440,q_100,w_1080/v1/assets/images/932657/2015/12/17/11450327139385-SASSAFRAS-Pink-Top-3391450327138597-1.jpg
> 
> https://poshmark.com/listing/Sugerpuss-Red-lace-crop-top-5b66282abaebf659792c66f0?utm_campaign=referral_code%3DAVEY&utm_content=feature%3Dnw_l%26rfuid%3D51f48801f99d6d640c05ec79%26post_roll%3Dstitched_v1%26ext_trk%3Dbranch&utm_source=pi_sh_pub


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